The carriage jolted violently as it sped over the cobblestone road. Inside the cramped space, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

Celine trembled in the corner of her seat, while Ophilia could only cover her mouth with a handkerchief, her eyes wide with terror at the sight of blood soaking into the carriage floor.

"Javien, stop moving! I cannot bandage this if you keep flinching!"

Olivia whispered sharply. She was forced to kneel on the narrow floor, pressed close to Javien’s legs to make room for Ophilia to sit.

"You are insane, Javien. You should still be in the dungeon... Didn’t you are still under punishment?"

Ophilia spoke with a trembling voice. Even though she was a Lady, she looked utterly terrified by the state of her Knight.

"If my father finds out you escaped..."

"He already knows, My Lady,"

Javien interrupted shortly. He leaned his head against the wooden wall of the carriage, his breathing heavy. Blood from his shoulder began to seep into the cracks of the floor.

"Celine! Please get me clean cloths from that bag!" Olivia commanded.

Celine groaned in distress, her hands fumbling through the bag frantically.

"O-okay! But Olivia... what if the guards in front hear us? We will all be punished!"

"That is why we must be silent!"

Olivia bandaged Javien’s wound with quick movements. Due to the extremely limited space, Olivia’s shoulder repeatedly brushed against Javien’s chest.

She could feel his body heat rising. In the darkness, Javien’s purple eyes stared intensely at Olivia.

"Why are you trying so hard to save me, Olivia?"

Javien whispered, his voice intended only for her ears.

"I am just a sinner on the run."

Olivia paused for a moment. She looked at Javien’s face, then glanced at Ophilia and Celine, who were watching them anxiously.

"Because I do not want to see you die at the Duke’s hands,"

Olivia answered shortly, her voice sounding determined.

Suddenly, the carriage came to a screeching halt.

They were all thrown forward. Celine almost screamed, but Ophilia managed to cover her mouth just in time. Outside, the light from torches began to illuminate the gaps in the carriage curtains.

"We have arrived..." Ophilia whispered, her face deathly pale.

"Father... he is already waiting at the gate."

Olivia looked at Javien.

"Celine, get ready! Remember our plan. You must pretend to faint the moment the door opens!"

The sun had begun to dip toward the west, casting a thick orange glow that scorched the horizon. The shadows of the trees on the Duke’s estate stretched long, creating dark lines on the ground that could either be a shield or a trap.

"Open the door now!"

The command sounded heavier in the stillness of the quiet afternoon. Crows began to fly over the roof of the residence, as if they knew blood was about to be spilled.

As soon as the door was opened, the sharp orange light pierced through, illuminating Javien’s pale face. Duke Herold stood there, his silhouette appearing terrifying against the reddish sky.

"LADY OPHILIA! HELP!"

Celine began her drama. She did not scream like before; instead, she wept mournfully while clutching her chest.

"Lady... the Lady is having trouble breathing! The afternoon air is too heavy for her!"

Celine intentionally collapsed onto the grass, drawing the attention of the Duke and the guards toward the right side of the carriage that was bathed in sunlight.

"Bring her inside immediately! Call the doctor!" the Duke ordered sternly.

While the guards were busy shielding Lady Ophilia from the glaring afternoon light, Olivia moved fast. She pulled Javien out through the left door, which was completely hidden by the massive shadow of the carriage itself.

"Follow the shadows, Javien... do not step into the light," Olivia whispered.

They crawled between the shadows of stone pillars and shrubs. The orange light filtering through the leaves made Javien’s bloody uniform look even more gruesome.

The red of his blood blended with the colors of the sky. Javien’s breath grew shorter. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Olivia... just leave me... I..."

"Be quiet! We are almost there!"

They reached the basement door. Under the dim afternoon light, the wooden door looked like a giant mouth ready to swallow them. As soon as they entered, darkness instantly seized them.

It was cold, silent, and smelled of iron. Only a thin sliver of light entered through the air vents above, revealing dust motes floating in the stagnant basement air.

The door was locked. Olivia leaned against it, her heart racing in sync with the sound of the large town bells signaling that the afternoon was almost over. Outside, the sky grew darker. Inside, their death marathon had only just begun.

Inside the basement, the air felt frozen. Olivia tried to steady her ragged breathing. She helped Javien to the darkest corner, behind a pile of old, dusty wooden crates.

"Javien, do not lose consciousness... please,"

Olivia whispered. She fumbled in the dark, searching for extra cloth to apply pressure to Javien’s wound, which had started bleeding actively again due to their drastic movements.

Javien leaned his head against the damp stone wall. His purple eyes were half-closed, but his hand still gripped Olivia’s sleeve with what little strength he had left.

"This place... it still smells the same..."

"Shhh! Quiet!"

Olivia covered Javien’s mouth.

Suddenly, from above, they heard a loud knock on the main basement door. It was not a gentle knock, but the sound of boots stepping in with high authority.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of Duke Herold’s silver cane hitting the stone floor above echoed. The sound was rhythmic, but every beat made the hair on Olivia’s neck stand up.

"Search every inch of this area,"

Duke Herold’s voice boomed from the upper floor, sounding very close through the air vents.

"Javien could not have gone far. Look for bloodstains on the grass. If there are any, it means he is still within the estate grounds."

Olivia looked at her hands, which were covered in Javien’s blood. She panicked. What if the guards noticed the blood on the basement door?

"Olivia..." Javien whispered hoarsely in her ear.

"If they come in... you must run through the secret path behind that rack. Do not worry about me."

"No!" Olivia protested in a voice that was barely audible.

"I will not leave you here again!"

Suddenly, the creaking sound of the wooden basement door they had just entered began to be heard. Someone was turning the doorknob from the outside.

Creeeeak.

The orange afternoon light began to cut through the darkness of the basement, forming a long line across the dirty floor.

Olivia held her breath; she pulled Javien’s body closer into the shadows until their chests touched. She could feel Javien’s heart beating fast, or perhaps it was her own.

"Is anyone here?" A calm and sarcastic voice greeted them. Olivia closed her eyes. She was ready to surrender, but that voice... it was not the Duke’s. It was not the rough voice of a guard either.

"Avelvion?" Olivia whispered in her heart.

The tall figure stood at the top of the stairs, holding a silver key. He did not call the other guards. Instead, he closed the door again and locked it from the inside.

"Do you know that hiding here is actually a very cliché idea?" Avelvion walked down casually, as if he were strolling through a garden.

"But it is lucky you chose this place. The Duke thinks Javien is too traumatized to ever enter this place again. He is currently looking for you at the stables."

Olivia let out a very long sigh of relief until her body felt weak.

"Avelvion... help us. Javien... he has lost a lot of blood."

Avelvion knelt beside them, his sharp eyes observing the wound on Javien’s shoulder. He grimaced for a moment, but at the same time, he pulled a small bottle from his robe pocket.

"I brought a little gift. But remember, Javien’s punishment is not over. If the Duke finds out I helped you, all three of us will be whipped together in the front yard tomorrow morning. Want to try?"

Javien opened his eyes slightly, looking at Avelvion with a sharp gaze despite his weakness.

"Just do it, before I change my mind about killing you."

Avelvion smiled cynically.

"Still arrogant even with your life on the line. Okay, Olivia... hold him tight. This medicine stings... it feels like being burned alive."

The light from the guards’ torches grew closer. Their shadows began to dance on the wooden crates where they were hiding.

"Avelvion, take Olivia and run!" Javien pushed Avelvion’s shoulder with his remaining strength.

"I will be the bait. Let me die here rather than all three of us getting caught."

Avelvion did not budge. Instead, he grabbed Javien’s collar, his eyes staring intensely into Javien’s fading purple eyes.

"Do you think I came here just to watch you die, you fool?" Avelvion whispered, his voice trembling with suppressed anger.

"If I wanted you dead, I would have let the Duke whip you to death yesterday. I am here because I will not let you die alone in this filthy place!"

Olivia was stunned. She saw the look on Avelvion’s face, which had always seemed casual and sarcastic, now full of deep worry.

"Avelvion..." Olivia whispered.

"Quick! Drag him in!"

Avelvion held one of Javien’s shoulders while Olivia held the other. The three of them made it through the narrow gap behind the weapons rack just in time.

Avelvion pulled a secret lever, and the stone wall closed with a faint click.

But just as they were about to crawl further into the room that connected to the back forest, Avelvion suddenly stopped.

"Wait," Avelvion whispered. He pressed his ear to the tunnel wall. From ahead, the direction that was supposed to lead them to the forest, the sound of many boots could be heard.

"Damn it! The Duke has already sent guards to wait at the end of the tunnel!" Avelvion gritted his teeth.

"He already expected us to use this path. If we continue, we are just sending ourselves into his trap."

"So where do we go?!"

Olivia panicked. Javien’s breath against the back of her neck grew hotter and weaker.

"We have to go back into the basement!"

"Are you crazy?!" Olivia’s eyes widened.

" Isn’t The Duke searching the basement right now!"

" I don’t think so....hurry! That is our only chance! The Duke thinks we already entered the tunnel, so he will not check the blind spots in the basement thoroughly anymore because he thinks we have run far away!"

Avelvion pushed both of them back toward the secret door. Exactly as they emerged from behind the weapons rack and hid behind a pile of thick canvas crates, they heard the main basement door above being slammed open.

Boom!

The main door above was slammed open violently. The sound of guards’ boots thudding down the stone stairs sounded like a death rhythm approaching.

Torchlight began to cut through the basement darkness, flickering on the walls as if searching for a victim.

Olivia hugged Javien as tightly as possible behind the pile of dusty canvas, her heart beating so fast that she feared the Duke would hear it.

"Do not move... do not breathe," Avelvion whispered, his voice barely audible, while his hand already gripped the hilt of his sword.

Outside, Duke Herold’s voice echoed coldly, breaking the suffocating silence.

"I know you are in there, Javien. Come out now... or I will personally burn this place down with you in it."

Olivia closed her eyes tight. The trap had closed. And this time, there was no longer a way to run.